


Just say yes

by goindownshipping



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Boys In Love, Engagement, Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Modern Bucky Barnes, World Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:07:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25737034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goindownshipping/pseuds/goindownshipping
Summary: There were countless other moments that led to this exact moment but none of them really mattered. Here he was in New Zealand traveling the world with his best friend turned the love of his life, Steve Rogers.Or, Steve is a photojournalist and Bucky goes along with him for an international assignment.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 9
Kudos: 49





	Just say yes

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: “No no no no no you aren’t going anywhere like that without me.”

Bucky Barnes tried to identify the decisions that led to this very moment, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint where it all began. Was it in fourth grade when a quiet blonde boy sat down next to him, taking pity on the new kid? Was it in middle school when he joined band just so Steve wouldn’t have to audition alone? Was it in ninth grade when they came out to each other, crying on Bucky’s bedroom floor? Was it the end of high school, when he and Steve decided to room together in college, knowing they’d both be terribly homesick without each other?

College was arguably the most important part of their relationship and how they’d grown together. Finally getting out of their small town, Steve and Bucky were introduced to the world in a way they never could have imagined. By sophomore year, Steve finally worked up the courage to tell Bucky that he’d been in love with him for a while. Steve expected the worst but knew he had to be honest with his best friend. What he didn’t expect was for Bucky to burst into silent tears and crumple into Steve.

“Buck?” he’d asked carefully.

“I convinced myself for years that there was no way you could ever feel that way about me, Stevie,” Bucky sighed.

“What? Are you crazy Buck?”

“Crazy about you, Stevie,” Bucky grinned, tears still in his eyes.

Steve shoved him slightly, groaning at the cheesy line.

From that moment on, they navigated a new relationship entangled with a lifelong friendship. As silly as it felt at the time, they did all the things one should do in a new relationship. They flirted, dated, got nervous while getting ready in their respective bedrooms, and on their next trip home, they reintroduced themselves to each other’s families as boyfriends.

There were countless other moments that led to this exact moment but none of them really mattered. Here he was in New Zealand traveling the world with his best friend turned the love of his life, Steve Rogers. Steve had graduated with a degree in journalism and a knack for photography, Bucky with a degree in computer science and software engineering. Five years later, and here they were. Steve was now a senior photojournalist at The New Yorker and Bucky was a lead database developer in the financial industry. 

When The New Yorker gave Steve the opportunity to do some international work, Bucky didn’t hesitate to join him. At first, Steve had insisted that Bucky stay in New York, not wanting Bucky to feel forced into traveling with him. Bucky couldn’t imagine a world in which he willingly stayed behind and let Steve go travel without him. It shocked both of them when the conversation blew up into a full-blown argument. 

“Buck, how could I possibly ask you to just up and leave your job to follow me around the world for a few months?” Steve exclaimed.

“You’re not asking me, Steve! I’m literally insisting on going. I can work from anywhere, you know that!”

“But Buck, the timezones would be impossible and our families are here. Of course, I want you to come with me, but I would hate myself for dragging you away from your life here”.

“Steve, no, stop it. The magazine wants to send you on an international photojournalism spree for three months. Do you really think I don’t want to visit Thailand and New Zealand and Morocco and all the other places they want you to go to? No. _**No no no no no, you aren’t going anywhere like that without me**_. How could you possibly tell me not to come with you, Stevie? Why don’t you want me to come with you?” Bucky lost steam, tears filling his eyes, as he realized that maybe Steve didn’t want him to go with him. He didn’t let himself think about the small box hidden between several layers of sweaters on his side of the closet and the fact that he had big plans with what it contained.

Steve immediately approached Bucky and wrapped him in a tight hug. “No, honey, no. I want you with me, always. I just want to make sure it’s what you want, that’s all. I promise, Buck”.

“I want to, I promise. I’ll clear it with work, and it should be fine. I’ll be there to annoy you the whole time”.

Steve just chuckled, pulling his boy in closer, wondering how he thought he could ever go three months without Bucky in his arms.

So there Bucky was, halfway through a three-month travel spree, standing on the balcony of their apartment in Hamilton, New Zealand. He glanced back over his shoulder, happy to see Steve still sleeping soundly. Bucky’d gotten up early to get some work done, knowing he’d follow Steve around for a while today, loving any opportunity to watch Steve work. He wasn’t sure how long he stood there, but a while later he was surprised by Steve’s large form coming up behind him, wrapping his strong arms around Bucky’s waist.

“Morning babe,” Steve mumbled.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” Bucky replied. “I hope I didn’t wake you this morning”.

“Nope, not at all”.

They just stood there for a moment, wrapped up in each other, still just as in love as they had been in college. 

“So,” Bucky started when they’d headed into the kitchen for breakfast. “Where are we headed today?”

Steve waved him off. “No work today,” Steve started. “I got us tickets for a Hobbiton Movie Set tour today. I know you wanted to visit while we were here”.

Bucky’s face broke into a massive grin. “Really, Steve? You hate those movies”.

“Yes, really. You’ve been going all the places I have to go, I wanted to take you somewhere,” he shrugged. “We don’t have to leave for a few hours, so you have plenty of time to nerd out over the website”.

Steve spent the next hour or so combing through his photos and drafting a few different columns and articles. Meanwhile, Bucky was excitedly researching all the different things they’d be doing at Hobbiton. Steve tried to focus on work, but it was hard to concentrate with Bucky mumbling about Green Dragons, various Hobbits, and Hobbit Holes - “we can crawl inside them, Stevie!”

Eventually, Steve gave up trying to work and looked over Bucky’s shoulder to get a glimpse into the set they’d be visiting that day. He’d never been the biggest fan of the movies, but anything to see his boy smiling that wide was worth it.

A while later they pulled into The Shire’s Rest where the bus was waiting to take them the last distance to the set. Bucky was buzzing the entire time, barely able to contain his excitement. Steve had brought his camera under the pretense of gathering footage for work, but really he just wanted to snap some candid photos of Bucky.

The next two hours passed in a blur. Bucky was hanging on to every word their tour guide said, eagerly repeating information to Steve as if he hadn’t also heard the same information. Steve snapped several photos of Bucky throughout the tour, loving the smile on his face. By the time they made it to the Green Dragon Inn, Steve couldn’t wait to order a beer and walk around with Bucky. As much as he loved learning more about the set and the movies, he was looking forward to some time with just Bucky. The crowd slowed them down a bit, but eventually, they had their beers and they were able to wander the grounds before the bus would take them back to The Shire’s Rest.

Bucky eagerly pointed out different spots here and there. Specifying where certain characters stood for certain scenes, which hobbit holes belonged to whom. 

“This place is like magic, Stevie,” Bucky said with awe.

Steve gripped his hand tightly, smiling over at Bucky. “I’m happy you’re having fun, Buck. We should probably start heading back toward the bus, though”.

Bucky nodded and begged Steve for just a couple more photos of him and at least one selfie of them. Steve happily obliged, taking several shots of Bucky and a whole burst of selfies. They meandered back toward the bus, chatting quietly about the rest of their adventures as they rode back to their car. Bucky drove the 40ish minutes back to their apartment, giving Steve some time to scroll through the photos he’d taken. Aside from all the pictures of Bucky, he’d gotten some good footage of the set. He wondered if maybe the travel editor would want him to work up a quick tourist piece.

Before he could get too caught up in work, he and Bucky arrived back at their apartment. Exhausted from the afternoon, both men collapsed on the couch immediately.

“Thanks again for letting me crash your work trip, Stevie”.

Steve wrapped his arms around Bucky, pulling him into his chest. “Thank you for coming with me, honey”.

Laying there in that apartment, thousands of miles away from home, they had everything they needed. Steve still couldn’t believe he ever thought he could take this trip without Bucky, and he still hated himself for asking Bucky not to come. He was grateful for Bucky’s stubborn nature and his insistence upon traveling with him. 

A few weeks later, Steve and Bucky walked through the door to their temporary home in Nice, France. Steve was supposed to focus on the cuisine there for the next couple of weeks, and Bucky was thrilled at the prospect of taste-testing everything. 

“Hey Stevie?”

“Yeah Buck?”

“Would you mind running down to a market to grab stuff for dinner? I don’t really feel like going out tonight”.

“Sure thing. I’ll be back in a sec, you just get settled in”. Steve pressed a quick kiss to Bucky’s cheek, quirking an eyebrow at how tense Bucky was all of a sudden. “You alright, honey?” Steve asked quietly.

“Yeah, just tired,” Bucky muttered.

Steve nodded, knowing how Bucky could be when he was tired. He headed out with a wave, leaving Bucky to relax at the apartment. Bucky’s heart was racing. What Steve didn’t know, was that he had a small box burning a hole in his pocket since the day they left New York. He’d planned to wait and propose somewhere more romantic, but he’d hit his breaking point since the trip to New Zealand. He’d been planning for a while back in New York, but with Steve needing to travel for work, Bucky wasn’t willing to wait until they got home. 

While Steve was out, Bucky got them unpacked and explored the small apartment. They were a short walk from the beach and had a lovely view of the coast. It was picturesque, and the perfect setting for what Bucky had planned. All those plans went completely out the door when Steve walked through the door. Time had either completely gotten away from him or Steve was gone for far less time than expected. The bags of groceries in Steve’s hands indicated the former.

Before Bucky knew what he was doing, he dropped down to one knee and pulled the small box from his jacket pocket. He froze, no words coming out of his mouth.

“Um,” Steve stammered, bags of food dropping to the floor.

“So, the real reason I couldn’t let you leave without me for three months is because this box has been hidden in our apartment in New York for about six months. When you said you wanted to go, I panicked, knowing that we were finally ready for this. Steve, you have been the love of my entire life, and you are the love of the rest of my life. You have given me more than I ever thought I could have in this world and I want nothing more than to call you mine, always. Will you, Steve Rogers, marry me?” Bucky was sweating, his hands shaking, and his breath was coming in short pants.

Steve took a few large steps and dropped to his knees in front of Bucky. Without a word, he tangled his hands in Bucky’s long hair and pulled him in close for a hard kiss. Their teeth clicked together briefly before Bucky remembered how to move his mouth. Bucky could taste tears on their lips, unsure if they came from him or Steve. When he pulled back, Steve was looking at him with wonder, tears running down his stupidly beautiful face.

“Yes, Bucky. Yes, always yes to you,” Steve sobbed.

Both men were shaking as Bucky pulled the matte black ring from the box and slid it onto Steve’s left hand. Bucky held Steve’s hand tightly, bringing it to his lips to press a kiss to the ring.

“I love you, Stevie”.

“I love you back, Buck”.

They stayed seated on that floor for far too long, groceries and dinner long forgotten. They whispered softly about their favorite memories together, reminiscing about falling in love and how Bucky had managed to keep a secret for this long.

Steve just laughed to himself, smiling at the man in front of him. “Thank you, Bucky. And thank you for insisting on coming with me”.

“Not getting rid of me now, pal. ‘M yours, Stevie”.

What Steve didn’t tell him was that he also had a ring hiding in their apartment back in New York. That one could wait a few more weeks.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, friends! Feel free to come say hi on [Tumblr](https://goindownshipping.tumblr.com/), my username is the same as here, goindownshipping.
> 
> See y'all soon!


End file.
